The Faithful Watchman

Taiwan mounts urgent response after 19 Chinese PLA jets, including two nuclear-capable bombers, enter its air defense zone

RT – September 23, 2021

Taiwan’s air force rushed to warn off a fleet of jets belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that entered its air defense identification zone, including two nuclear-capable planes, Taipei has said.

On Thursday, the Ministry of National Defence announced that 19 Chinese aircraft had entered into the southwest of the island’s air defense zone, prompting Taiwan to dispatch patrol troops to respond, as well as to activate anti-aircraft missile tracking and monitoring.

The fleet comprised 12 J-16 fighters, two Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, a pair of H-6 nuclear-capable bombers, two J-11 jets, and one Y-8 EW.

The government reported a smaller incursion last week in the same area comprising 10 PLA aircraft, among them six J-16 and two J-11 fighters. The day before the flyby, Taipei had pledged an extra $8.69 billion to be spent over the next five years to boost its arsenal against threats from China, citing concerns that Beijing’s military strength had recently been significantly beefed up.

Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory under its ‘One China’ policy, has frequently expressed a grievance over US involvement with Taipei – a relationship it describes as ruining the “status quo.”

Last month, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command conducted assault drills in response to “provocations,” citing the heightened US military and political ties with the island, which Beijing deems “collusion.” The exercises were intended to test its troops’ capability and to “further safeguard China’s sovereignty,” according to a senior PLA colonel.

https://www.rt.com

Macron Willing to Trade France’s UN Security Council Seat to Brussels in Exchange for an EU Army

Kurt Zindulka – September 23, 2021

President Emmanuel Macron is willing to trade control of France’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to Brussels in exchange for European Union member states backing his plan to forge an EU Army, an ally of the French leader has said.

Macron, who at the start of his presidency declared that he wished to govern like the Roman God Jupiter, is set to become the European Union’s most influential leader with Chancellor Angela Merkel set to step down after Sunday’s elections in Germany.

Part of this Jupitarian strategy will be to push for the creation of a centrally controlled European Army with France at the helm in the wake of President Biden’s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan and the AUKUS defence pact signed between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

In order to accomplish the lofty goal of a centralized European military force, Mr Macron is reportedly willing to cede control of France’s permanent position on the UN Security Council.

A close Macron ally, Sandro Gozi told The Telegraph: “I think that if we move on these things we can put on the table also the discussion on the Security Council.”

The former Italian Europe minister and current transnational MEP for Macron’s party in Brussels added: “We must be prepared to confirm our transatlantic alliance but also to become adult in terms of our security and take on our responsibility… Certainly, Macron will push a lot. I would say this is probably his highest priority now.”

France is currently the only EU member state to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council after the UK left the bloc at the beginning of this year. While Brussels does not have a seat on the influential body, it sits in “observer” status.

The indication of a potential trade of the UN seat for a France-led EU Army comes as the French are set to take control of the rotating EU presidency on January 1st. President Macron is set to lead a joint summit on European defence alongside the EU Council president and close Macron ally Charles Michel during the six-month period in which France controls the presidency.

“This is a unique opportunity for him and for Europe,” said Mr Gozi.

https://www.breitbart.com

Intensifying volcanic activity’ forces evacuation of THREE MORE La Palma towns

RT – September 23, 2021

Emergency services on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma have informed residents of three more towns they must flee due to the ongoing volcanic eruption, which has already destroyed scores of homes.

In a notice released by PEVOLCA, the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan, on Friday, authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation, asking residents of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo, and Tacande de Arriba to head to the El Paso soccer field amid concerns about “intensifying volcanic activity.”

Residents in the three towns had previously been told to remain indoors for their own safety, but officials now believe they should leave the areas due to the threat posed by a “high presence of ash” emanating from the volcano, which started erupting five days ago after decades of inactivity.

Since volcanic ash began spewing and lava flowing, over 400 buildings have been destroyed on the western part of La Palma. According to the Spanish Civil Defense force, around 240 hectares of lava have flooded out of the volcano so far, mostly into arable lands.

The new evacuations come after experts at the Canary Islands National Geographic Institute warned that the lava flow from the volcano in Cumbre Vieja national park could continue for weeks, or even months.

https://www.rt.com

Jewish man fired by Unilever for taking time off during Rosh Hashanah in 2019 – report

JERUSALEM POST STAFF – September 24, 2021

A Jewish man was fired from Unilever, the Ben & Jerry’s parent company, for taking time off during the Rosh Hashanah two years ago, The New York Post reported on Thursday.

David Rosenbaum was working as a general manager at Unilever’s Englewood Cliffs at its New Jersey headquarters when he told Frank Alfano, his boss, that he planned to take days off for the Jewish holidays in 2019, to which his boss responded that he couldn’t take time off for the Jewish New Year nor for Yom Kippur, according to Rosenbaum’s lawsuit.

Unilever has been making headlines as of late for its decision to ban the sales of its ice cream in the West Bank.

Rosenbaum emphasized that his religion prevents him from working on those days and took the time off anyway, notifying his superiors at Unilever via email about the situation.

Rosenbaum was fired over the phone the next day.

The court filing also stated that Alfano allegedly touched Rosenbaum and asked him to lend him money.

Rosenbaum also worked with the ice cream company’s marketing team to organize sales events. Rosenbaum alleged that his firing was “further evidence of Unilever’s antisemitism.”

A Unilever spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post that “Unilever strongly refutes these allegations and has a zero-tolerance policy on antisemitism or any form of discrimination in the workplace.”

It was reported in late July that Ben and Jerry’s board chair made a statement that she was not antisemitic following Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s statement that the boycott is a “shameful surrender to antisemitism.”

https://www.jpost.com

DEVELOPING: Salmonella outbreak from unidentified food source has sickened people across 25 states

Ricky Scaparo – September 23, 2021

At least 127 people have been infected — and 18 hospitalized — amid an outbreak of salmonella across dozens of states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections linked to the outbreak had been detected in 25 states as of Sept. 15, with Texas alone reporting 45 of the cases.

According to News Nation, Salmonella Oranienburg, the strain observed in this outbreak, began sickening people on Aug. 3, according to the CDC. By Sept. 2, a total of 20 infections had been linked to the outbreak, which grew “rapidly” in the following weeks, sickening at least 127. Of the 48 whose medical information was made available, 18 had been hospitalized.

The CDC estimates that the actual number of sick people is “likely much higher,” as many infected individuals often recover without seeking treatment or getting tested.

It can also take up to four weeks to determine if a sick person is indeed part of the outbreak, the agency says. The CDC has yet to identify a source linked to the outbreak, though public health officials are currently interviewing to try to determine a possible food item.

“Several groups of people (‘subclusters’) at restaurants in multiple states have been identified,” the CDC wrote of the outbreak. “These subclusters are groups of people who do not know one another who ate at the same restaurant and got sick. Investigating these subclusters can sometimes help identify a food item eaten by all of the sick people that could be the source of the outbreak.”

https://endtimeheadlines.org

House Democrats Pass Most Radical Pro-Abortion Bill Ever, Overturning Every Pro-Life Law Nationwide

Micaiah Bilger – Sepember 24, 2021

The U.S. House passed a radical pro-abortion bill Friday that would force states to legalize the killing of unborn babies in abortions without limits up to birth nation-wide.

The deceptively named Women’s Health Protection Act passed in a 218-211 vote with one Democrat joining Republicans in voting against it. No Republicans supported the pro-abortion legislation.

Democrat leaders portrayed the bill as the “codification” of Roe v. Wade into federal law, but the legislation goes far beyond Roe.

Pro-life leaders said the Abortion Without Limits Up to Birth Act is a more accurate name for the bill. The legislation would erase basically all restrictions on abortion and prevent states from enacting even modest protections for unborn babies. Limits on late-term abortions and bans on sex-selection abortions would be gone.

The legislation would get rid of laws that protect women and girls, too, including parental consent for minors and informed consent laws that ensure mothers receive basic facts about their unborn baby’s development before going through with an abortion.

The text of the bill states, “A health care provider has a statutory right under this Act to provide abortion services, and may provide abortion services, and that provider’s patient has a corresponding right to receive such services, without any of the following limitations or requirements,” and then lists numerous examples of pro-life laws and regulations.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a leading pro-life congressman from New Jersey, lamented how abortion activists have gone to extraordinary lengths for decades to ignore “the battered baby victim” of abortion.

“For the first time ever by congressional statute, H.R. 3755 would legally enable the death of unborn baby girls and boys by dismemberment, decapitation, forced expulsion from the womb, deadly poisons, or other methods at any time until birth,” Smith said.

https://www.lifenews.com

The Inflation Train Is Still Gaining Speed

Peter Reagan – September 2021

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and other members of the Fed have been using the term “transitory” to downplay the threat that the last 16 months of skyrocketing inflation would last.

But inflation has been sharply on the rise since March 2020, with only a minor pause toward the end of last year before rising even more sharply since January 2021. Two Fed officials dissented in June of this year, but Powell’s money-printing habit hasn’t slowed.

The “light at the end of the tunnel” for the Fed? A miniscule .1% (one tenth of one percent) down tick in the official monthly inflation report this August.

You can almost hear the relief in the Fed’s chatter… “See, we were right! It was only transitory inflation, and it’s already going down! There’s nothing to see here, move along, buy more stocks.”

Don’t crack open the champagne just yet.

Unfortunately for us, the Fed’s optimism seems misplaced. That 0.1% reduction in monthly official inflation leaves us with a 5.3% annual inflation rate, more than 2 1/2 times higher than the Fed’s official inflation target.

And if you think everyday folks have it rough, small businesses have taken a major hit:

Inflation for businesses reached a year-over-year rate of 8.3% — the metric’s highest level since at least 2010.

On top of that, consumers are waking up to the reality that inflation won’t be “transitory,” but instead will likely stick around for a few years.

https://www.newsmax.com

Hamas punctuates Israeli air strike with another rocket – a shift in tactics

Debkafile – September 13, 2021

A fourth rocket punctuated the third round of Israeli air strikes over the Gaza Strip that responded to three nights of single Palestinian rocket fire. This last rocket like the others was aimed on Sunday night, Sept. 12 at Sderot and the Eshkol Council. All four Hamas projectiles were intercepted in time by Iron Dome rockets. The military spokesman reported that the fourth rocket prompted an expansion of the Israeli raid to five major Hamas facilities, including a “terror tunnel” as well as training compounds and arms production sites and depots.

The launching of the fourth rocket in the course of the latest Israeli counterstrike marked a change in Hamas tactics. Until now, the Palestinian terrorists ruling the Gaza Strip were wont to fire a rocket or two, wait for Israeli punishment and hold back for a while before launching their next small-scale rocket or arson balloon offensive against the Israeli population next door to the Gaza Strip. On Sunday night, Hamas changed the rules by initiating its next attack while an Israeli punitive operation was still ongoing.

DEBKAfile’s military sources note that Hamas’s decision to change the rules is worrying in the sense that it copycats Syria’s latest mode of retaliation for Israel’s alleged air strikes on pro-Iranian sites. On Sept.3, Syria aimed two SA-5 rockets at central Israel in direct response to a purported air raid over the outskirts of Damascus. Both were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system. This new government in Jerusalem downplayed that event as well another new feature of Hamas aggression. In the past fortnight, Hamas has been seen to direct heavy machine gun fire at its Israeli neighbors – so far without causing casualties. But there is no doubt that Hamas is diversifying its offensive tactics and very much on the warpath.

https://www.debka.com

EU Chief Von der Leyen Says Europe Must Build the ‘Political Will’ for an EU Army

Kurt Zindulka – September 16, 2021

The European Union needs to build the “political will” to craft an army of its own, President Ursula von der Leyen said in her State of the Union speech on Wednesday.

Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels, the EU Commission chief said that in the wake of President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the bloc should look towards the formation of a “European Defence Union”.

“In the last weeks, there have been many discussions on expeditionary forces. On what type and how many we need: battlegroups or EU entry forces. This is no doubt part of the debate – and I believe it will be part of the solution,” von der Leyen said.

“But the more fundamental issue is why this has not worked in the past… What has held us back until now is not just a shortfall of capacity – it is the lack of political will.

“And if we develop this political will, there is a lot that we can do at EU level.”

The former German defense minister argued for a more centralized command structure of the militaries of Europe rather than what she termed as the “fragmented” system in place now, saying: “This is why the EU could consider its own Joint Situational Awareness Centre to fuse all the different pieces of information.”

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany’s current defence minister, hailed the speech, writing: “Ursula von der Leyen is right… Real EU defence depends on the political will of member states. That’s why Germany and France must lead.”

The speech from the EU President comes amid a growing consensus in Brussels for a fully-fledged EU Army in the wake of Afghanistan.

https://www.breitbart.com

Strong earthquake swarm under Cumbre Vieja volcano, Canary Islands

TW – September 13, 2021

A strong earthquake swarm started under Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma, Canary Islands at 03:18 UTC on September 11, 2021.

From the beginning of the seismic series until 08:00 UTC on September 13, a total of 1 570 earthquakes have been detected, of which 354 were located. 315 earthquakes have been detected (90 located) to 17:45 UTC on September 12.

The magnitude of earthquakes have been increasing in recent hours, with a maximum magnitude of 3.4 mbLg.

The depth of the earthquakes remains between 8 and 13 km (5 – 8 miles).

Since October 2017 there have been 10 seismic series with similar characteristics in this area of the island of La Palma.

“The occurrence of events of this type in an active volcanic zone is within normality and does not present any risk to the population,” the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) said.¹

Only 15 earthquakes (M0.9 – 2.6) have been detected on the island during the entire month of August. 10 of these earthquakes have been part of a small seismic series that occurred on August 27 and 28 located in the south of the island.

Shallow depths suggest that new magma is currently intruding into a reservoir under the volcano, volcanologist Dr. Tom Pfeiffer said.²

“Whether or not this might be leading up to new volcanic activity is impossible to say at this stage, as there seem not to be other signs of significant volcanic unrest at this stage.”

Earthquakes registered in the previous two earthquake swarms under the volcano — December 2020³ and February 2021⁴, were deeper (20 – 30 km / 12 – 18 miles, and 15 – 20 km / 9 – 12 miles, respectively), which could indicate that magma has now risen higher in the volcano’s underground storage systems.

“Without a doubt, the current seismic swarm represents a significant change in the activity of the volcano and is related to a process of magmatic intrusion beneath La Palma Island,” the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) said.

https://watchers.news